Players
Peaslake
Great Expectations
By Charles Dickens
Auditions for Great Expectations will take place on Tuesday 19th and Thursday 21st November 7:30pm (Children) 8pm (Adults) at Peaslake Village Hall
Audition pieces are available by clicking on the character name below.
Adult Pip (age 25-40) Adult Pip plays both the narrator and himself. He leaves his old life behind him and goes to London in the second half of the play in order to “become a gentleman”. His character changes for the worst but eventually he discovers that the “great expectations” he is promised do not lead to happiness.
(age 25 plus.) Adult Estella appears briefly at the beginning of the play and then returns in the second Act. Damaged by the upbringing she received from her adopted mother Miss Havisham, Estella has closed her heart to love and torments Pip who has always loved her. She eventually makes a disastrous marriage to an upper-class bully but the play ends on a hopeful note.
(Teenager) Young Estella lives with her adopted mother Miss Havisham. Her character has been moulded by her mother to show only indifference and disdain to young Pip and to break the heart of anyone who gets close to her. She is forced by Miss Havisham to play with Pip but never shows any outward feeling to him although her real feelings are revealed later in life.
(age 30 plus). One of Dickens’ most famous characters, Miss Havisham lives with her adopted daughter in gloomy Satis House where time has stood still since her wedding day. She teaches Estella to be cruel, cold-hearted and capricious as her revenge on all men. She can be unpredictable, manipulative and manically obsessive.
Teenager. Young Pip lives with his sister and her blacksmith husband in poverty. He meets the convict Magwitch on the marshes and his life changes. He is taken up by Miss Havisham and is made to feel common and uncouth. Hedesperately wants to improve herself. At the end of the first Act, an unknown benefactor propels him to London, promising him “great expectations”.
(age 30 plus.) An endearing character, Joe the blacksmith is the ever-faithful friend of Pip. He protects him from his overbearing sister and is the only one who seems to truly love him. A mild sweet-natured character who, despite everything, loves Pip’s sister.
(age 30 plus.) A force of nature, she rules the roost with her “tickler” (a cane). Abusive and self-important she has brought up Pip “by hand”. A strong character part
(age 25 plus.) An extravagant character, friend of Mrs Joe, he/she also fancies themselves as a poet and “thespian of renown”
(age 25 plus.) A brutish convict who terrifies Young Pip but later redeems himself. “ I been a warmint, dear boy, that’s all I’ve been, that’s what I was born”
(age 20 plus.) Pip’s school teacher and confidante who is rejected by Pip as being “too common”. A friendly and homely character.
(age 30 plus.) A powerful London lawyer who becomes Pip’s guardian in London. An no-nonsense intimidating presence who occasionally shows a softer side to his character
(age 25 plus.) Jaggers chief clerk. A character part (could be M or F)
(age 20 plus.) Pip shares lodging with Herbert and becomes a close friend. An open and honest character who teaches Pip how to “be a gentleman”
(age 25 plus.) A upper-class bully who marries Estella and mistreats her badly.
There are other smaller parts which can be played by members of the cast
About Great Expectations
A terrifying encounter in a fog-laden churchyard changes orphan Pip’s life forever. As he struggles to come to terms with his mysterious “great expectations”, Pip will have to work out the true cost of this new world and whether it will truly make him the man he wishes to be.
Charles Dickens much-loved novel is brought vividly to life in this acclaimed adaption by Jo Clifford with a host of memorable characters including the eccentric Miss Havisham, the cold-hearted and capricious Estella and the sinister Magwitch.